abandoned to Christ.

Showing posts with label Scripture-pictures. Show all posts

Many of us are familiar with the "Blessed are..." portions of Jesus' sermon on the mount and sadly, some think that's actually the entire sermon. But it's not. Our Lord's sermon spans two chapters in the Apostle Matthew's gospel, with the major theme being: live holy lives unto the Lord. Though the Beatitudes are very important, it's only the short introduction to Christ's great teaching on what a true Christian's life looks like.

The Lord Jesus strongly teaches that our mere profession of faith doesn't prove we belong to Him. Only the demonstration of the Holy Spirit's work gives evidence that we've been sealed (2 Cor 1:22). But if the fruit of righteousness isn't born in all who profess the name of Christ, it's clear they're not possessed by the life of Christ.

Sermon on the mount in a nutshell:

1) Blessed are those who are in Christ and live as He lived (Mt 5:1-12)

2) I should be physical evidence (the taste) that the LORD is good; He alone preserves life (Mt 5:13)

3) My life should be a beacon of the Gospel, not a cavern of megalomania (Mt 5:14-16)

4) Obey God's commandments (Mt 5:17-20)

5) Quickly settle disagreements with love (Mt 5:21-26)

6) Don't be sexually immoral in heart, mind or body (Mt 5:27-30)

7) MEN, don't divorce your wives (Mt 5:31-32)

8) Don't lie or flatter; be a person of my word; be trustworthy (Mt 5:33-37)

9) Be humble and loving, not selfish and vengeful (Mt 5:38-42)

10) Be perfect in Christ and love righteousness (Mt 5:43-48)

11) Give to others as unto the Lord, not for praise (Mt 6:1-4)

12) Pray in accordance with God's will not mine or others (Mt 6:5-13)

13) Humbled and grateful for God's mercy, forgive others as God has forgiven me (Mt 6:14-15)

14) Practice holy fasts to the Lord, not to self-righteous asceticism (Mt 6:16-18)

15) Invest my life in Christ rather than in my body and life on earth (Mt 6:19-21)

16) Don't watch or read things that cause me to sin (Mt 6:22-23)

17) Live joyfully abandoned to Christ, not foolishly in love with this world (Mt 6:24)

18) God is omniscient, sovereign and good and always provides for His own (Mt 6:25-34)

19) Judge in accordance with God's word, not with my opinions or personal affinities (Mt 7:1-5)

20) Be wise who I invest in; true disciples, not flatterers (Mt 7:6)

21) Trust God to provide all good things (Mt 7:7-11)

22) Do the good to others I'd like done to me, whether or not it's done to me (Mt 7:12)

23) Be in the minority; persevere in holiness rather than self-gratification (Mt 7:13-14)

24) Discern between true disciples of Christ and false converts (Mt 7:15-20)

25) Christ will reject many who profess faith, but haven't truly been regenerated (Mt 7:21-23)

26) Only those who persevere in the will of God prove to be His (Mt. 7:24-27)

27) Jesus spoke with authority as God and not as a human theologian (Mt 7:28-29)

If the Son of God did not disrobe Himself of His glory to put on sackcloth and ashes (skin and bones), descend from Heaven to fulfill the requirements of God's righteousness, take the blame and shame for our sins, suffer, die and resurrect anew, then all of us would be without hope of ever attaining eternal life. But because all this did happen and Christ did come and lived a sinless life, bore the just judgement for our sins, suffered, died, was buried, rose and ascended back to Heaven, having completed His work, now seated at the right hand of the Father; all who believe and call on the name of the Lord, will be saved.

However, not all who call on the name of the Lord, actually believe the Lord. This is the message of the sermon on the mount: saved people live like Christ, not for a time, but for a lifetime. False converts live in opposition to what they profess, living how they really believe—that they are their own god and live in accordance with what they feel is right instead of what God says is right.

Because of the sermon on the mount, I am deeply grieved for the many (that Jesus says) will be shocked to find out they are not His. On the day of Judgement, they will discover all their "righteous" deeds were only filthy rags in God's sight, because they weren't done in faith and by the power of God. But they were performed for various self-satisfying reasons and for the praise of others (i.e., "I did that because it made me feel good" rather than "I did that because it pleases God").

A true Christian feels good because they do what is pleasing to God (as clearly revealed in His Word), rather than thinking because they feel good, God must be pleased.

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice."

~Proverbs 21:2-3 (ESV)

For the past month our oldest son has been asking me what I want for Mother's Day. I've had no other ideas to offer him except one: that he aspire nothing greater than to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ; walk closely with Him and that love for the Almighty be preeminent in his life.

I'm 45 now and I pretty much have everything I need or want. When you get to be my age, there's very little you desire that money can buy. The things that are most cherished are the things of the heart. And since Christ is my Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit inhabits my heart and directs my desires to be more like Christ and less like I was pre-second birth (Rom 8:28-29, Gal 2:20).

The desires of our flesh begin to wane as we draw nearer to the Lord Jesus. We begin to see things with the new spiritual eyes He gave us. And the things we treasure are no longer the things that satisfy our flesh. We begin only to long for the greater things—the things that satisfy the Spirit of Christ within us.

"What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people."

~Psalm 116:12-14 (ESV)

This Mother's Day is bitter sweet for me as I only have one son still in my life. Our second son, as many of you have already read, is our prodigal and has disdained and rejected all that our most generous and gracious Lord has blessed him with through our family. Sadly, our son is a scoffer (Prov 9:7, 13:1) and prefers to join himself with people who tickle his ears (Prov 26:28, 27:6) rather than love him and build him up in the truth (Ps 141:5).

Because we have the love of Christ, we have much pity for our son gone astray and for those helping him in his rebellion. There is no safer or lovelier place than in the Lord Jesus, and they're all missing out on the greatest Gift.

May our merciful and compassionate LORD grant them all godly grief (2 Cor 7:9-10).

"It is only as Christ's words remain in us and we remain in him that we will be delivered from the rootless Christianity so characteristic of our times."

~Sinclair Ferguson (A Heart for God)

The greatest gift a mother's heart desires is not for gold, trinkets or anything that will fade away with this world. But the greatest desire any God-fearing and Christ-loving mother has, is to see her children, all her children, walking in truth (1 Jn 3:18). And this is something she can't do for them.

There's a point and time in every person's life where they need to take responsibility for the gifts and even sin patterns they have. Every saved person can choose to use their God-given strengths to overcome the sinful temptations of their flesh, or they can ignore the good and revel in the evil.

A mother can neither take the credit for the fruit and blessings of a godly child, nor can she take the blame for one gone astray. The best and most loving thing a mother can do is be obedient to God's Word (Deut 6:6-9, Prov 31:26) and diligently train up her children in the loving discipline and instruction of the LORD; and trust Him for the results.

My heart echoes what Job aptly spoke, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21, ESV).

"We turn to God when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them."

~Charles West

Though this Mother's Day will be bitter sweet, it will be more sweet than bitter because Jesus is still on the throne and the Almighty is still sovereign. Therefore, I choose to relish the goodness of Christ my Savior and thank Him for both my sons, the one who strives for holiness and the one who has spurned God's goodness. All children are gifts from God (Ps 127:3); therefore, I am grateful and rejoice!